Final Fantasy XIII 1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Oh, look a new story :3 Yeah, this one should be updated a lot fast then the other one . Why? Cause this one interest me to write :d and high school fictions...are..boring to write. Anyways, I do need feed back on this one. I want to get better at writing and I want to be able to satisfy people, so even if you didn't like it, leave a review (only if it's constructive criticism though)**

Snow glared up at the light bulb that hung from the ceiling. It swayed from one side to the other, creating an annoying creaking noise which drove him insane. He growled and took off his shoe, throwing it towards the light bulb just barely missing it. The shoe landed on the other side of the cell and the light bulb began to sway even faster. Snow growled and placed his head in his hands, wishing that it would just stop.

Suddenly the door to the cell block opened and footsteps were heard. Normally, Snow would just ignore the footsteps or would glare at who ever passed his cell but these footsteps sounded different. They were lighter and quieter. They stop every so often; apparently the person was looking inside of the cells. When they stopped in front of his cell Snow looked up.

He was met with gray eyes looking down at him. The boy couldn't have been older then 14-year-old yet he had a cold look in his eyes. His white hair had yellow area where the light of the light bulb reflected off it. He wore a pair of brown pants and an orange shirt. His skin looked like it hadn't been touches by the sun in years.

"Hi," Snow greeted and the boy just blinked. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?" He asked the boy continued to stare at him. Just when Snow was beginning to wonder if the boy was mute the door to the cell block opened again. This time there were a lot of footsteps, they all resembled the boy's footsteps and there were a couple of heavy ones accompanying them.

The boy turned to look at the group and Snow blinked as the group of people approached. A girl stood next to the boy. She looked into the cell and her green eyes searched the place.

"Oh wow, it's filthy in there isn't it?" The girl stated and Snow growled from the back of his throat. The girl eyes landed on him and her eyes widen. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." The girl apologized and Snow grunted. The girl's voice was high and she had a slight accent. Her hair was pink and her skin was slightly darker then the boys. He wore a pink skirt and red shirt. The boy rolled his eyes and the girl turned to him.

"Hope, everyone was looking for you." The girl stated and Snow looked at the boy. So that was his name.

"Sorry," Hope apologized and suddenly a group of people surrounded them. Snow sneered as his cell was suddenly surrounded by a group of 14-year-old's and a couple of guards. There was a woman there who appeared to be the one leading the group but she was too busy talking to one of the guards.

Finally, when the noise became unbearable Snow snapped at the group to get away from his cell. The entire group backed-up except for Hope who stood in front of the cell. He continued to stare at Snow before a smile spread across his face. His gray eyes narrowed and Snow looked back at him with a confused look.

"Pathetic." The boy stated and Snow threw himself towards the bars. Hope backed up and watched as Snow cursed at him, telling him that if he ever got out Hope was going to get it. All Hope did was blink and smile as Snow rampaged. The guards stood next to the cell, telling Snow to back away from the bars.

Snow did as he was told and sat at the other end of the cell, glaring daggers at Hope. The woman sighed in relief and then asked for everyone's attention. The children looked up at her, all except Hope who was smirking into the cell. The group turned to walk out of the cell block and Snow watched as Hope followed, the girl tagging along.

"Hope, does your dad really own this jail…?" Snow heard the girl asked and the door slammed shut. Snow glared at the floor, staring at the shoe he threw earlier and cursed at Hope. All the other people in the prison suddenly began laughing, quoting Hope and teasing Snow.

"Shut up all of you!" Snow yelled out and the prison block became quiet. He was left with the creaking of the swaying light bulb. He growled and took of his other shoe, hurling up at the light bulb and successfully hitting it. Shattered glass fell to the ground and Snow glared at the other end of the block.

Two weeks later, Snow sat at the lunchroom. He was silently eating his foot, emitting an aura for people to stay away. The door to cafeteria opened but no one paid attention. They all continued to eat their food or yell at the guy next to them. Snow's eyes traveled to the door where a man stood. He had short brown hair and a beard that only ran along his jaw line. He wore a black suit and glasses so he looked like a lawyer.

Snow sneered when he noticed Hope standing next to the man, wearing a black hooded jacket and blue jeans. Hope caught his stare and smirked; his eyes taunting. Snow growled low in his throat and looked up when the man looked in his direction. Both he and Hope left the cafeteria and Snow's grip of his plastic fork tightened until the fork snapped.

He threw away his food and walked out of the cafeteria into the courtyard. The courtyard was huge and gave the inmates enough room to walk around or play basketball. There were benches to sit down on if someone was tired and it could have resembled a high school basketball court if it wasn't for the ten guard stationed at every corner and entrance. Snow headed towards the fence that separated the male inmate from the female inmates and sat against it.

"Rough day?" A voice asked and the fence shook as someone sat with their back against Snow's. He smirked knowing it was Fang and turned to look at her over his shoulder.

"You could say that." Snow stated and turned back around to face the basketball court. He watched as two inmates played basketball only to be joined by six more.

"Care to share?" Fang asked. Snow looked back at her, only to be met with her wavy hair. Fang also had fair skin that looked like it never met the sun. At the moment she was wearing the long sleeve orange jumper they give the inmate, but when she was in her tank top her tattoo on her arm showed. Fang was the toughest girl Snow had ever met and they became fast friends, stopping by to talk to each other when they had the chance.

"It's that kid." Snow stated, watching the inmate's try and make a basket.

"What kid? Did Sarah have a one?" Fang asked, talking about Snow's old fiancée. He sneered and told her she was wrong. "Well, who then? I can't think of any kid." Fang asked and Snow looked around the courtyard.

"This kid with white hair, his name's Hope." Snow stated and Fang made an, "Oh" noise.

"You mean Bartholomew's son?" Fang asked and Snow turned to gave her a strange look. She shrugged and looked back at Snow. "Hey, it's good to know these things. Besides the kid's been wondering around for the past two months. Where have you been, under a rock?' Fang asked and Snow grunted.

"So you know him?" Snow asked and Fang snorted.

"Nah, he's been around my cell block a couple of times. Exchanged a few words and he kept on going. He seemed to be looking for something." Fang stated and Snow remembered how Hope had stopped at every cell before his.

"He stopped at my cell for quite a bit." Snow stated and Fang nodded. The guard blew the whistle and people began to walk into the prison. Snow said his goodbye to Fang and walked in, stopping in his tracks when he entered his cell block and spotted Hope staring into his empty cell.

Snow walked up to Hope and loomed behind him until he turned around. Hope's eyes grew and he backed-up against the bars. Snow smirked and Hope glared up at him, turning back around to face the cell. Snow frowned and continued to look down at the top of Hope's head.

"You shouldn't turn your back on a prisoner you know." Snow stated and Hope turned to glare at him. Even though Hope was barely tall enough to reach his chest he acted taller than Snow. His eyes were hard and he crossed his arms. Snow glared right back and him and blinked when he realized the Hope was starting to smile. "What are you-"

"AH! HELP – HE'S GOING TO HURT ME!"

"What!" Snow yelled and incredulously watched as Hope covered his head with his arms. Hope bent down and began screaming again making the security guards charge in his direction. He was promptly talked down and handcuffed as Hope was pulled away by another security.

Snow looked up as he was hauled away and noticed Hope's satisfied smirk. What the hell did he do to get this kid after him?


	2. The First Crack In The Glass

A week, that's how long Snow spent in isolation because of that brat. Why Hope had it in for him was a good question. Snow never really dwelled on why though, he mostly thought about wringing Hope's little neck and throwing him out a very high window. It was natural to think like that in isolation though. The only sounds were the ones of guard coughing or talking to each other outside of the metal door. So venturing into one's mind and wishing for revenge wasn't that hard to do.

Anyway, once Snow got out he instantly started looking through his cell. He checked under the mattress, moved furniture (and found a couple of dead bugs), looked under the furniture (again more dead bugs) and even went to the extent of looking inside of the toilet (though he didn't actually stick his hand in there, that would be unsanitary). He found nothing though.

Now Snow sat on the bed, head resting on his knuckle as his eyes roamed around the room. What could have caught that kid's attention? Was it a way out of the prison? Is that why he was tormenting Snow, because he didn't want Snow to get out? It made sense if he thought about it. Hope's dad was the owner of the prison and being the son he had to know where the past escape routes were located.

Snow blinked and started staring at the opposite wall. If there really was an escape route, he could get out of the prison. He wouldn't go back to Sarah but he'd be free of this hellhole. This place gave him goose bumps at night anyways.

The door to the cell block opened and Snow ignored it thinking it was another guard until one of the inmates started yelling. "Hey Snow your little boyfriend here!"And all the other inmates started to wolf whistle. Snow blinked and looked in the direction of the bars wondering what they were going on about.

Hope's gray eyes were the first thing he saw. Hope was dressed in black jeans, a yellow shirt, and a black jacket with a hood. His gray eyes were staring right at Snow's and that's all he did, stare. It got on Snow's nerves because he felt like an animal in a cage (Well technically he was an animal and the cell was like a cage but that's not important). He glared at Hope and normally someone would flinch and turn away like they hadn't seen anything but Hope just stood there.

"They let you out?" Hope asked and Snow didn't dignify that with a response. "Too bad. They should keep misbehaved dogs locked up longer." Snow roared and threw himself at the bar, screaming at Hope. Surprisingly no guards came to tell Snow to back up from the bars; unsurprisingly the inmates were acting like monkeys, making fun of Snow. "Are you done?" Hope asked when Snow stopped yelling curses at him.

Snow glared at Hope's eyes wondering what was wrong with the kid. Suddenly Hope's eyes flickered towards his cell and Snow slowly turned to look in the same direction. He didn't see anything and looked back at Hope who was now staring at him.

"What?" Snow barked out and Hope blinked.

"You moved it." Hope said and Snow gave him a clueless look. "Don't give me that look, there's no way the guards would have found it unless you moved it." Hope stated and Snow continued to look at him with the same expression. Hope sneered and turned away. "Unless I get it back I'll just keep getting you in trouble." He said and began walking away.

"What the hell are you talking about!" Snow yelled and Hope looked at him over his shoulder.

"Think back, I bet you'll figure it out if you do." With that Hope walked away and ignored all of Snow's calls and curses. When the door closed Snow yelled and kicked the drawer next to the table. He sneered when his inmates started making cat calls.

"SHUT UP!" Snow yelled and the entire cell block began laughing. He sat down on the bed, growling and threw the first thing that was within his reach, which happened to be one of his shoes that had taken off to clean. It smacked against the opposite wall and landed on a tile. Instead of the usual low thump a high screeching noise erupted from the shoe. Snow blinked and looked at the tile that the shoe had landed on.

He stood up and walked up the shoe, moving it out of the way. He picked up the stone tile and also lifted it out of the way, discovering a foot wide whole where the tile used to be. He blinked and stuck his hand into the hole retreating it when it touched the body of a dead rat.

"Gross…"

He looked at over his hand for any visual damaged but found nothing except for some dirt. He looked back into the hole, picking up the dead rat by the tail and throwing it out of his cell for the guard to deal with. Once more, he looked into the hole and found nothing. He sat back and blinked. It definitely wasn't an escape route since the hole was only a foot wide and deep. It could have been used to hide something though.

His eyes went wide with realization and looked back into the hole. This was probably what Hope was looking for; well what was in the hole had been what he was been looking for. What could have been inside of it that he wants back so badly? Snow sat back and covered the hole. He had been in the prison for two years and he never found out about the hole until just now. Maybe the inmate before him had found the hole and whatever had been inside of it.

He moved back to sit on the bed and lay down instead. How old was Hope? He looked 14 maybe 15 and if he hid something in the cell before Snow was put in here he must have been at least around 12 or 11 years old. What kind of a parents lets a kid hang around a prison long enough to hide something?

A couple of days later Hope returned and Snow was looking inside of the hole again.

"So you did move it." Hope commented and Snow looked up at him. He stood up and brushed the dirt off his orange jumper.

"I didn't move anything. I just found the hole." Snow stated and Hope stared at him. Snow met the stare with one of his own and kept it up until the staring contest began to annoy him. "What?" He asked and Hope looked back down into the hole.

"You're lying." Hope said and looked back up at Snow who was growling.

"Look, I don't lie." Snow stated.

"Then why are you in here?" Hope asked and Snow opened his mouth to respond but closed it after a second. "I thought so." Hope stated and turned around. "There are a lot of guards around…" He looked at Snow over his shoulder. "If I don't get it back you'll be spending more time in solitary confinement." He said and Snow gaped.

"Are you _threatening_ me?" Snow asked and Hope tuned to fully face him.

"Only if you don't give it back." Hope said and Snow blinked rapidly.

"I told you I don't have it!"

"Liar." Hope turned around and opened his mouth to yell out but a pale hand wrapped around it from behind successfully stopping his yell in its tracks. Snow pulled Hope against the cell, accidentally (well maybe not accidentally) slamming Hope's head against one of the bars. Hope's eyes began to water and he reached up to try and pry the hand of him but he was too weak.

"Listen kid, I don't know what it was that you had in that hole, but I haven't seen it or moved it." Snow stated and Hope glared at the cell opposite from him. "All I know is that there is a hole in the floor and a kid that for some reason wants what was in it. Whatever was in there is gone and you're going to have to deal with it." Snow hissed and Hope growled.

Snow heard the growl and looked around the cell block. Hope wasn't joking when he said there were a lot of guards around and it was a miracle (for him) that he hadn't been spotted yet. He looked back down at Hope's head and guessed that if he let go of him Hope will immediately call for help. The only solution was to get Hope to calm down but that didn't look like it would happen anytime soon.

Snow sighed and leaned down to whisper into Hope's ear. "I didn't move whatever was in there..." Hope's body tensed and he began to get goose bumps. Snow didn't exactly know why but he didn't really care all he wanted to do was get the kid to stay silent once he let him go. "But I can help you find it." At that statement Hope's shoulder started to relax. "You may be the son of the owner but I bet there are some places even you can't get into because they are too dangerous but I can. If I let you go and you don't scream I'll help look for whatever this thing is." Snow stated and watched as Hope stayed completely silent. "Do we have a deal?" He asked and Hope slowly nodded his head.

Snow pealed his hand away from Hope's mouth and stepped back from the bars. Hope turned around and stared at him. Snow could see the held back tears in his eyes from when his head hit the bar.

"So what is it?" Snow asked and Hope stared at him. "What am I looking for?" Snow asked and Hope blinked.

"A book. A diary actually." Hope said and Snow raised his eyebrows.

"A diary? All of this for a diary?" Snow asked and Hope crossed his arms.

"It was my mom's and it's important." Hope responded and Snow nodded sarcastically.

"Uh-huh, so what's in this so called Diary? And if it's your mom why do you have it?"

"Look just look for a dark red book that says 'NORA' on it, alright?" Hope said and turned to walk away. "And don't tell anyone or you'll never get out of solitary." Hope left and Snow blinked now genuinely curious to know what is in the book.


	3. The Second Crack

"The courtyard." Hope's voice echoed in Snow's cell. Snow turned over on his bed and slowly sat up, looking at Hope. His slightly confused look made Hope roll his eyes and cross his arms. "I can't enter the courtyard, even with bodyguards. Too many inmates and my father believes that it's too dangerous." Hope stated and Snow wiped his face with his hand. "I want you to check that area."

Snow stood up from the bed and strode over to the bar, staring down at Hope who was at least half his size at best. It confused him because normally when someone shorter then Snow was stared down at they would turn tail and run, but no matter how much he stared down Hope all he got was a cold look. Sometimes Snow wondered if the boy felt anything at all.

"You do realized how big the courtyard is don't you?" Snow asked and Hope just blinked. There it was again, that blank stare that could scare a group of people out of a room.

"I know, but I can't search it." Hope responded in his monotone voice. Snow sighed and slap himself on the face. He stood up and crossed his arms as he headed towards the bars of the cell. Hope's head tilted back most of the way so he could look at Snow in the face. His face still showed no emotion as he looked up at Snow's blue eyes.

"That will take days you know, you can't threaten me to hurry up while searching that area." Snow stated. He didn't know why he was actually following orders that Hope gave him, but he knew that he didn't want to get sent back to solitary. Maybe his subconscious mind just didn't want to go back into the silent and dark cell, or maybe he just didn't want to crash into the wall because of the lack of light in there.

"I can do what I want." Hope stated and Snow growled. "I want that book"

"I don't care how much you WANT the book I can't look for it very well if I'm hurrying." Snow responded.

"I _need_ the book." Hope stated and Snow went quiet. "I'm not telling you why but I need the book." Hope stated and Snow noticed the look of worry, sadness, and frustration lurking in the back of the 15-year-old's eyes. Just as fast as it appeared though, it disappeared leaving behind the blank look that Snow had been used to seeing.

"Fine, but I ain't making any promises." Snow stated and went back to his bed. It creaked when he sat down and continued to creak as he found a comfortable position to lay down in. Hope stayed at the front of Snow's cell for a minute more before he turned and walked away. The silence of the block made his footsteps echo and once the door shut the only sound left behind was the dripping sound of the pipes.

The silence didn't last long though because after a couple of seconds an inmate made fun of Snow causing the cell block to laugh. Snow growled and punched the wall.

"Don't you monkeys have anything better to do!" Snow yelled out.

"We're in prison jackass! There is nothing to do!" Someone yelled back and Snow growled turning over in his bed.

The next day Snow wondered out to the courtyard. He looked around at the vast area he had to search and sighed. Not only were there inmate at every corner, there were guards everywhere if he looked suspicious they would definitely come after him and begin asking questions.

Snow figured that is he was going to have any chance at finding that book (though he still didn't know why EXACTLY he was doing this) he would have to search the female side of the cells, and who better to do that then Fang.

He walked up to the fence and scanned the female courtyard, looking for anyone that looked like her. When he did lay his eyes on Fang she was screaming at someone. Snow placed his finger in his mouth and whistled loudly, catching her attention. She looked up and pushed the girl out of the way, heading towards the fence.

"Hey there. I was beginning to think you lost interest in speaking with me." Fang stated and Snow shrugged.

"Things came up. Hey listen I need a favor." Snow stated and Fang blinked. Usually, Snow wouldn't think twice about avoiding talking to the women on the other side of the fence but one day he happened to decide to sit against it only to have Fang sit down next to him on the opposite side of the fence. She hadn't tried to talk to him or anything, just a comfortable silence fell on them. This happened everyday until Snow finally lost it and asked her why she was sitting there. She shrugged and said that he was the quietest person there and their friendship began.

"What is it?" Fang asked and Snow crossed his arms.

"You know Hope?" Snow asked and Fang nodded her head.

"Yeah, he's the owners brat. What about him?"

"He's been tormenting me for a bit and he finally pipped up why yesterday. Apparently he wants a book his mom had left behind."

"And?"

"He wants me to help him find it."

Fang snickered and gave Snow a teasing look.

"And you are going to help him?"

"It's either that or isolation and I really don't want to smack into anymore invisible walls."

Fang threw her head back and began to laugh, causing Snow to frown in irritation. She bent over and held herself up with the fence that separated them and looked up at Snow, trying her best not to begin laughing again.

"So let me get this straight. A 14-year-old kid has got you outsmarted and making you go out on a treasure hunt?" Fang stated and Snow growled. "And it's either you help him or get sent into isolation. Man that is rich!" Fang yelled out and began to laugh again.

"Listen, I just want you to look around the women courtyard for a stupid book with a black cover and the word 'NORA' written on it." Snow pushed through his teeth and Fang wiped the tears out of her eyes.

"Yeah yeah, alright. I'll do it." Fang stated and Snow sighed out a thanks. He turned around to walk away only to have Fang yell out after him. "Hey! Don't end up whipped!" Snow growled out and Fang walked away, still laughing to herself.

The rest of the day was spent looking for the damn book and all Snow found were rocks, bugs, and in some occasions teeth that inmates lost during their fights. He grimaced and threw them back down to the ground, wiping his hands on his pant leg.

That night Snow lay on his bed, staring up at the annoying lightbulb. At some point they had fixed the lightbulb and now it continued to squeak in his cell. He was about to grab his shoe and throw it again when a voice at the other side of the bars stopped him. He look over and spotted Hope standing there. His gray eyes staring at him with a bored look.

"Did you find it?" He asked. Snow snorted and stood up from the bed. He walked up to the cell, looking down at Hope.

"Didn't I tell you that place was huge?" Snow stated and Hope continued to stare up at him. "No I didn't find it." He said and Hope blinked up at him. He titled his head and looked at the bed that Snow had been laying on and the shoe that was on Snow hand.

"What are you doing with a shoe in your hand?" Hope asked and Snow looked down at his hand.

"This? That damn lightbulb makes a creaking noise and it's damn annoying." Snow stated and Hope looked up at the object. The lightbulb was swinging from side to side as if taunting Snow. Each time it reached it peak it would creak and swing to the opposite side.

"And you solution is to throw a shoe at it?" Hope stated and Snow growled.

"Well it's not like the guards give a damn." With that Snow put on his shoe and turned back into the cell, laying down on the creaky bed. Hope turned around and began to walk away. Snow waited for the slam of the door door closing but it never came. Instead Hope's footsteps seemed to go up the stairs that lead to the second floor. They continued to echo until they stopped right on top of Snow's cell.

"Hello Ho-woah!"

"Why did you tell me how annoying the cells were?" Hope's voice stated and Snow heard the stuttering of the guard. He was lost when it came to figuring out what happened next but the guard came running to Snow's cell and stopped at the front. He told Snow to back away and opened the cell when he did so. He warily grabbed the bed in the cell and dragged it out, ignoring all of Snow's complains.

The guard shut the door and Snow looked over at Hope who was now standing next to his cell. Before he could scream at him Hope raised his hand and pointed to the right where the guard disappeared too. Snow's curiosity got the best of him and he leaned to one side looking over that direction. The guard was coming back with a new mattress.

Snow watched dumfounded as guard entered his cell once more and placed the mattress on his bed. He left the cell and saluted Hope as if he were a military officer. He then quickly walked away. Hope turned to look back at Snow and walked up to the cell.

"Find the book." Was all he said and then he left the cellblock. Once the door slammed shut all the prisoners started to complain about their noisy cells. Snow on the other hand looked at the bed and cautiously sat down on it. It wasn't as creaky as the last and much more comfortable. Snow stared at the door that Hope had exited through.

What the hell just happened?

A/N: Bah, I am sorry for any grammatical errors. I have a mac now and use pages, I don't think it has an option to check your grammar.


	4. The Third and Fourth Cracks

Snow had looked for three days for the book but found nothing except for a few extra teeth. He was seriously beginning to wonder how some people still even had any left in their mouths. By the end of the third day he decided to stop wasting his time and sat down against the fence that separated the female inmates from the males. Maybe Fang had found something.

He turned around to see if Fang was anywhere in sight but didn't find her. What he did spot instead was a girl with blond hair walking around as if she owned the place. Snow had to admit the girl was pretty good looking. She had a curvy body, flat stomach, and a waist big enough to satisfy any man. She must have been new because Snow had never seen her before and he would have noticed someone like that walking around.

He predicted that she wouldn't last long. If the male inmates didn't find a way to the female side (which had happened before and they were all deprived from exiting their cells for a good week thanks to that asshole) then the females inmates would get to her. Speaking of which, it seemed that the person Snow had been looking for made her appearance.

He was about to whistle to call Fang when the look on her face told him that it was probably going to be a bad idea. She was angry and not the normally irritated angry that Fang usually was. She was angry enough to have steam come out of her ears. Snow watched as she stalked across the courtyard like a lioness ready to pounce on her prey.

Snow expected to see her scream at the first person that bumped into her, instead she pushed through everyone, punching the blond girl on the nose. The girl flew backwards and landed on her ass. That was all the provocation the prison needed.

In two second flat the two women were surrounded by more females who either wanted to let go of some stress or wanted a good view of the fight. The men on Snow's side of the prison all looked over when the sound of skin smacking skin echoed through the prison. When they noticed it was two women in a fight they both ran up to the fence, wanting to see if they could catch a slight glimpse of the fight.

Snow sneered when the men began to push him against the fence. He turned around and growled at one of the inmates whose hand strayed too close to a private area for comfort. The man raised his hands and slowly disappeared into the crowd.

"Rip her shirt off!" One of the men standing next to Snow yelled.

"Yeah! Hit her good!" Another added.

Snow continued to sneered and glare at anyone who pushed him any closer to the fence then he wanted to be.

"Hey! That ain't fair man! We couldn't see anything!" An inmate yelled. When Snow looked to see what he was talking about he noticed there were guards prying Fang off the blond girl. Her knuckles were full of blood and she had a split lip. The girl on the other hand had a broken nose, split lip, a black eye forming, and Snow would have bet his life that she was probably now missing a couple of teeth as well.

"Get away from the fence!" One of the guards yelled out and the male inmates began to back off. Some returning back to their game of basketball, others to their gangs, and some (like Snow) stayed to watch Fang get dragged into solitary confinement.

Snow's eyes drifted towards the entrance of the women courtyard only to see Hope standing there. His gray eyes were as hollow as ever but that's not what bothered Snow. What bothered him was that Hope was looking directly at him as if telling him that he was watching him. Snow sneered and turned to walk away, deeper into the courtyard. The kid was annoying but no matter how much power he had around the prison he could never enter the courtyard. For the rest of the day Snow rested on a bench, taking a nap every once in a while.

The next day Snow turned over as he woke up. There was a bird chirping outside his window, normally that wouldn't bother him but that damn light bulb was definitely becoming a nuisance. He looked up at the glass metaphor of his annoyance and threw his pillow at it. He didn't miss, well he wouldn't have if the pillow hadn't decided to land a little short.

"You're horrible at throwing you know." Hope's voice echoed in the cell block and Snow turned to look at him.

"The hell are you doing here? I told you. I can't find the book - "

"That's not what I'm here for, though I'm starting to think that you are just wasting my time and taking up space." Hope said and Snow glared, starting to growl at him. "If you keep making that noise you'll convince me you really are a dog." Hope said and Snow launched himself at the bars, grabbing Hope by the collar of his white shirt.

"The hell is your problem, brat!" Snow yelled, accidentally waking up everyone in the cell. Some one yelled at him to shut up only have someone else tell them to shut up. That's when the inmates noticed that Snow was yelling at Hope. The cat calls and couple jokes began once more. "I'm looking for your god damned book and all you do is pester me! If you keep doing that I don't care how much you need that fucking book I'll stop looking for it!" Snow yelled.

He didn't expect what happened next. Instead of the cold look that he would normally get from Hope his eyes shone with sadness and fear. The shock from actually seeing emotions in the gray eyes caused Snow's grip to slacken. Hope took that moment to rip himself away from Snow. He took a couple of steps back and the cold look was back up.

"I told the guards that your friend wasn't responsible for the fight yesterday." Hope said and Snow lost his voice. Hope fixed the collar of his shirt and picked up a bag from his right. He pushed it in between the cell bars and backed up once more. "She'll be out of solitary confinement in two days," He then pointed at the bag. "There is a tub of scrambled eggs and beacon in there. Think of it as a thanks." With that Hope turned around and left the cell block.

Snow had to blink a couple of time before his mind started to work again. He looked down at the bag and picked it up, opening it to find actual food in there. He lifted up the tub of eggs and opened it to find some scrambled eggs with bits of beacon inside.

"Hah! What's wrong Snow! Feeling bad because you made you boyfriend cry?" One of the inmates yelled out and the taunts started to fly. Instead of telling them to shut up, Snow sat down on his bed and began to eat the eggs, actually feeling guilty for once.

Two days later, just as Hope had said would happened, Fang was let out of the solitary. The first thing she did when she walked into the courtyard was head towards the fence and sit down besides Snow.

"Found it." She said and Snow almost got whiplash with the speed he turned around at. Before he could say anything though, Fang stopped him from saying anything. "I didn't physically find it so don't get too happy but while I was in solitary I found a hole, about a foot wide and foot deep." Fang said. "Someone could hide something in there, don't know if it was your book but one could definitely fit in there."

"There's a hole that big in my cell." Snow said and they both stayed quiet.

"Nothing to talk about?" Fang asked and Snow shifted positions.

"Not really. 'Cept, what was that fight about?" Snow asked and Fang snorted looking up at the sky.

"Bitch said something she shouldn't have. You don't have family outside of here, right?" Fang asked and now it was Snows turn to snort.

"Not if you count that thieving cunt family." Snow said and Fang slightly laughed.

"Then you don't know what it's like to have someone outside these walls waiting for you." Fang said and looked back down at the courtyard, panning across it with her eyes. "I have sister waiting outside. She should be around the brats age," Fang said referring to Hope. Snow suddenly felt a wave of guilt hit him like a tsunami. "Nice kid but doesn't deserve to wait for someone like me." Fang said and Snow grunted.

"Alright, so what's bothering you?" Fang asked suddenly after a tense ten minutes of silence.

"I don't know what your talking about." Snow stated and Fang laughed out in amusement.

"That would work if you didn't have waves of awkwardness radiating off you." Fang said and Snow snorted once more.

"Oh please, as if that's possible." Snow responded.

"Quit stallin' what's going on?" Fang asked and Snow sighed.

"That kid again." Snow began and Fang turned around.

"Man, you've got some obsession with this kid don't you?" She asked and Snow rubbed his face with his hand.

"It's not an obsession he just pops out of now where and he's a giant nuisance." Snow said and Fang turned back around look over the courtyard once more. "Not only that but he somehow actually got me to feel - "

"Love?" Fang teased and Snow punched the fence making her laugh.

"Guilty." Snow finished as Fang finished laughing. He leaned back against the the fence and stared up at the sky. Fang shifted position and turned her head to look over he shoulder.

"Well, maybe you're just starting to like him?" Fang asked Snow looked across the courtyard. He should have been used to it by now, looking over to the furthest area and finding Hope standing there staring back at him. His gray eyes locked with Snow's blue ones and he couldn't help but remember the fear that passed over them two days ago.

"Doubt it." Snow said standing up. "He's just being a damn kid." Snow growled out and started to walk over towards Hope. Fang watched him go and turned back around leaning against the fence.

"Pfft, he's totally whipped." She said no one in particular.

Hope's grey eyes were still locked on him as he walked closer to the fourteen-year-old and continued to be locked onto his until he reached the entrance to the kitchen.

"I thought you weren't allowed in this area." Snow said and Hope just stared up at him.

"Did you find anything?" Hope asked and Snow rolled his eyes.

"You're a real hit to talk to you know that?" Snow stated sarcastically. Hope just blinked and Snow _really_ wanted to punch him in the face. "My friend said she found something in solitary." At that Hope's eyes widened to the size of saucers. Snow had to admit they were a pretty good shade of grey in the light, specially when the light hit them. Then he realized that Hope had reached up to and grabbed him by the collar.

"The Hell!" Snow yelled and Hope practically dragged him across the cafeteria. It wasn't that Snow couldn't break free. He defiantly could, it's that with all the guards around the only thing he could do was follow the brat all the way to the cell block. When they reached the area Hope demanded that all the prisoners be taken out of their cells and for both guards and inmates to leave to the courtyard.

"MOVE!" He yelled when the guards just gave him perplexed looks. Snow watched as the guards began to scramble getting everyone out of their cells and out of the block. By the time they had finished Hope was hyperventilating and glaring daggers at the floor.

Snow would have found it funny if it didn't look like the brat was going to blow up at the moment. Actually, no scratch that Snow did find it funny but he was more focused on the fact that Hope was actually showing something other then a nonchalant look for more then three seconds.

When Snow reached out to touch Hope he was pushed back by him. He caught himself before falling down and glared at Hope.

"Who did you tell!" Hope yelled out, his voice echoing through the cell block. When Snow just stood there glaring at him Hope walking up to him and brought him down by the collars. Again it wasn't that he couldn't break free it's just that – well – Snow didn't know why he didn't just break free. Maybe is was the sheer anger that was radiating off the fourteen-year-old body in front of him or the tears that were currently creating tracks on the boys face. "WHO!" Hope yelled again and Snow gently pulled Hope's hands away from his collar.

"Fang." He gently stated and Hope broke down. He paced back and forth, tears streaming down his face before collapsing on to the floor and just sobbing.

Snow was honestly confused. One second the kid was screaming at him and the next he was crying on the floor.

Snow stood there, looking down at Hope for a good minute before he finally gave in and sat down. He put his hand on Hope's shoulder blades. He didn't expect Hope to turn towards him and cling to him like a small child, but then again a lot of things that he didn't expect were happening to him lately.

"Sorry." Snow apologized and Hope nodded, tears still cascading down his face. "She won't tell anyone." Snow tried again and it seemed to work because Hope stopped crying. Snow wanted to go back to his cell but something kept him by Hope's side. He didn't know what the feeling was just that it kept him there until Hope fully stopped crying.


	5. A Few More Cracks

**A/N: I think I made them move on too fast in this chapter. I hope I didn't.**

"He hasn't told you to do anything yet?" Fang asked as she stood by the fence. Snow just shrugged and sat back, feeling the fence's rough surface on his back. "Well, maybe he's found the book and doesn't need you around anymore?" Fang asked and Snow stayed silent, watching a gang pick on a new inmate that had arrived.

He didn't know why, but Snow really didn't like the idea of the brat not needing him anymore. Maybe it was that he had done nothing except help him find the goddamned book for the past couple of days, or that it gave him something to do but he really despised the idea of Hope not needing him anymore. He unconsciously clenched his knuckles and began to growl lowly. Apparently Fang had either heard him growl or seen him clench his knuckle because she started to chuckle.

"What?" Snow asked looking up at her. She just continued to snicker. "What's so funny, Fang?" Snow asked and Fang smirked down at him.

"You don't like that idea do you?" She asked and Snow turned away.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Snow stated and Fang began to chuckle amusingly.

"You're a real trip when your in denial you know that?" Fang asked and Snow gave her a confused and irritated look. She shook her head and slowly stopped chuckling, "Never mind, if you keep clenching your knuckle like that your going to bleed."

Snow looked down at his hand and unclenched it, slightly wincing when the blood began to flow again. He flexed his hand and placed it down. Fang was smirking behind him and he really hated her at the moment.

"That doesn't prove anything." Snow said and Fang waved her hand.

"Sure it doesn't." She said and Snow glared at the other end of the courtyard because he doesn't pout. Snow doesn't pout. "Hey, isn't that the brat getting dragged out of solitary?" Fang asked and Snow instantly turned around to look across the females courtyard toward the solitary confinement building. Sure enough there was a tiny body being dragged away from the building. He couldn't hear what was being said but he could tell it was Hope because of the gray hair, but why was he wearing an orange jumpsuit, unless...

"He didn't..." Snow drifted off and Fang began to laugh.

"Oh man! The kid's got balls I'll give him that." Fang stated in between her laughter which only intensified a second later when Snow kicked one of the guards in between the legs and began to run away.

"Ooh, that guy definitely doesn't have any left." Snow stated after wincing. He couldn't picture Hope actually kicking anyone in the nuts to protect himself but now he made a mental note to watch out for the kids legs next time.

"Oh man that was a great laugh." Fang said after wiping the tears from her eyes. Snow smirked as he watched the guard limp away and wondered if maybe that's what Hope had threatened to do to get him a new mattress all those days ago. "Well, I'm hungry. I'll see you around." Fang said pushing her self away from the fence. Snow grunted out a good-bye and Fang waved as she walked towards the female cafeteria.

Later on that day Snow was sitting in his cell staring up at the ceiling when he heard the door to the cell block open. It had been three days since he had held Hope until the kid stopped crying and he was expecting him to pop in eventually. Lord and behold the brat was standing in front of his cell a second later. Snow smirked at him when those blank eyes met his.

"I saw you kick the guard." He said and watched Hope's face. He was surprised when he noticed the slight (barely there) twitch of Hope's mouth. "Though next time I suggest you kick him in the shins, give him some chance to reproduce." Snow said and Hope actually looked away, his lips twitching again. Snow smirked to himself actually feeling satisfied about getting some reaction instead of fear or sadness out of the kid.

"Alright so what do you need?" Snow asked standing up and walking towards the bars after a minute. Hey, the kid needed to recuperate that nonchalant mask at some point. Hope followed him with his eyes as Snow got closer until he had to bend his head all the way back to look at Snow in the eyes. "Come one cough it up? I can't read minds." Snow said and Hope blinked.

"Get in trouble." Hope said and Snow raised an eyebrow. How come he had a feeling he knew where this was going?

"Get in trouble and get into solitary confinement." Hope said and Snow sighed shaking his head.

"See I knew you were going to ask this -"

"Then why did you tell me to tell you?" Hope interrupted

" - but I really don't want to." Snow finished as if Hope hadn't interrupted him at all. He bent down to look at Hope in the eyes and said, "You're crazy if you think I'm going in there. I'm helping you just so I don't go in there or don't you remember your threat?" Snow asked and Hope just frowned, not with his face but with his eyes. They glared at him.

"I'll just make sure they put you on Death Row then." Hope said in the coldest voice Snow had ever heard and honestly it took him back quite a bit. "I want that book." Hope stated and turned around to walk away. Snow followed him with his eyes and once the door shut he groaned. Man he hated when Hope left with the last word... How the _hell _did he end up getting tricked by a fourteen–year– old of all people!

Fang's laughter as she held onto the fence had to be one of the most annoying sounds Snow had ever heard. When she _finally _stopped laughing she had tears trailing down her face and she was as red as anyone could possibly be.

"Oh man you are so whipped!" She exclaimed and began to laugh once more. Snow closed his eyes and growled, counting down from ten. He opened his eyes and waited to Fang to stop laughing.

"I'm not _whipped_," He said and Fang began laughing once more. "You need to be a couple for that and I'm _not_ a couple with that brat." Snow growled out and Fang slid down the fence, loosing the energy from her legs from all the laughing she was doing. When her laughter subsided to giggles Snow sat down next to her on the opposite side of the fence.

"Alright, your not whipped." Fang said and held back her giggle. "How are you going to get in trouble?" Fang asked.

"Who said I was going to do it?" Snow pushed through his teeth and Fang scoffed.

"So you're going into Death Row instead?" Fang said and Snow rubbed his face with his hands.

"Why me?" He asked no one in particular and Fang looked across the courtyard to find Hope looking at them. She felt the boys cold stare on them and shrugged.

"Maybe he likes you?" She offered and now it was Snow's turn to laugh. Fang felt more then heard Snow laughter as the fence shook along with Snows body. She continued to stare back and Hope who wouldn't even blink while looking at her.

"Yeah right, even I know that's not the way you treat someone who you like." Snow said and continued to laugh. Fang just hummed as Hope turned and went back into the female library. She had a feeling he knew what they were talking about but it was just a feeling, there was no way the kid heard them, right?

Suddenly the fence shook as Snow stood up. Fang looked up as Snow began to walk away and turned to look back where Hope had been standing.

"Poor kid." Fang stated and closed her eyes for a nap.

Snow swore that Hope would be a great agent for the government when he grew up because the kid had an uncanny ability to pop up where ever he looked. It happened way to many times for it to be a coincidence too.

He put down his spork and stared across the cafeteria at Hope, who was currently walking in his direction. If the inmates hadn't had enough to tease Snow about with Hope they had something new as Hope sat down next to Snow and began to pick the grapes out of Snow's lunch tray. At first Snow needed some time for his mind to process, then he realized what was going.

"The hell do you think your doing?" He half growled half asked. Hope just looked up at him and Snow blinked at how much Hope's eyes resembled a dog's right then and there. Then Hope looked forward once more and popped another grape into his mouth. Snow growled and snatched the tray away from Hope's reach when he went to pick up another grape.

"I was eating that." Hope said and Snow gave him and incredulous look.

"Are you serious? Your the owner's kid go get some from the kitchen." Snow said and Hope stared at the far wall.

"They don't taste the same." Hope mumbled out and Snow gave him a confused look.

"What?"

"Hit me." Hope suddenly said and Snow deadpanned.

"What!" He asked again and Hope gave him a blank stare.

"Hit me." He said.

"I heard you the _first _time." Snow growled out and Hope blinked up at him. Man, he'd be lying if he said he didn't want to punch the kid in the center of his face. "What could possibly make you think that I would _hit _you." Snow asked and he realized how stupid that sounded. Hope just blinked and Snow swore he saw a little bit of hurt in his eyes.

"You find me annoying." Hope said and stole another grape from the forgotten tray. "Now hit me, get sent to solitary confinement and find my mother's book." Hope said and Snow placed his head in his hand growling out loudly. Maybe if pretended this was all a dream Hope would go away. Unfortunately, the brat was still there when Snow opened his eyes.

"I'm not going into solitary confinement." Snow growled out and Hope glared up at him. Behind him some inmates were started to snicker at them.

"I want that book."

"You've said that about ten times since the first time you spoke to me, brat." Snow said and they both entered a glaring contest. "Besides we aren't even sure if the damn book is in solitary confinement." Snow growled out and Hope blinked in confusion.

"What?" Hope asked and Snow rolled his eyes going to back to eating his food.

"Fang only found a hole where the book could have been but not the actual book." Snow said and Hope's eyes grew wide. Snow had a strange sense of deja-vu.

"What!" Hope screamed out while standing up. Everyone in the cafeteria became silent and the sounds of the guards reaching in their pockets for their weapons became audible. "You lied to me!" Hope yelled out and Snow blinked up at him. Why did it seem like the rolls were suddenly reversed?

"I didn't lie to you. I just said that she found something in solitary not the -"

"GO BACK TO EATING!" Hope screamed out, making Snow startle. He realized that Hope was screaming at the other inmates and not at him. "GO BACK TO EATING OR I SEND YOU ALL INTO SOLITARY CONFINEMENT FOR A YEAR!" Hope screamed.

Snow didn't know how he knew but he did. He stood up and grabbed Hope by the top of his arm, puling him down and covering his mouth, from the corners of his eyes he could see the guard getting ready to tackle him down.

"Calm down." He growled out and Hope growled from behind his hand. Man that feeling of deja-vu was really strong today. "If you keep talking like that your going to end up murdered." Snow said and Hope slowly calmed down. Snow gently let go of him and stood up, picking up his tray of food. He made sure that Hope was following him as he threw his food out and walked out of the cafeteria.

"Did you know this prison used to be a female only prison?" Hope said after ten minutes of sitting in the empty cell block with Snow. Hope had cleared everyone out when they entered the cell block, making sure that they were the only ones inside. After that Snow had proceeded to telling Hope what Fang had said. That's when the silence started.

Snow looked to the side where Hope was sitting to find the fourteen-year-old looking down at the floor.

"I didn't know that." Snow said decided to amuse Hope.

"Yeah, my mom was one of the inmates in here." Hope said wrapping his arms around his knees, drawing them closer to his chest. "This was before my dad was the owner." Hope added and continued to stare at the floor.

Snow really had no idea how to respond to this or where this came from but he stayed silent. Something told him that Hope was telling him something that he hadn't told anyone else before. It strangely made him feel happy though he still wondered why he was telling him.

"That book is my mom diary about what happened in here and I need it back." Hope said and Snow swore that the kid was going to start crying again. Snow hated how this chest suddenly felt knotted at the thought of Hope crying. He wrapped his arm around Hope's shoulders and pulled him in surprising him.

"I'll find it." Snow said and Hope blinked rapidly. Snow couldn't help but smile at the surprised look on Hope's face. Hope looked away from Snow and stared at the far wall. Now, Hope. Hope pouted and Snow couldn't stop himself from laughing at him. When Hope glared up at him Snow just continued to to chuckle and nuzzled the top of Hope's head. He missed the slight pink tint that appeared on Hope's cheek but he definitely didn't miss the annoyed whimper that was emitted from Hope's mouth.

Snow blinked and pulled away from Hope, completely lost as to why he just did that.

"I won't tell if you won't." Snow said referring the the nuzzling he just did and Hope scoffed.

"Who would I tell?" Hope said and relaxed in Snow's arms.

Right then and there Snow had a feeling that Fang was right. He was whipped, couple or not.

**A/N: After reading this, I realized that I leave a couple of sentence that either can confuse the reader or** **that may seem like they make no sense at all. Of course, they make sense in my mind but if you can't seem to decipher them just tell me and I'll explain it to you. :)**


End file.

Final Fantasy XIII, Crime, Romance